Chennai City: A Pen Picture

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu state situated in Southern India and was known as Madras previously. It is a metropolitan city and a prominent economic, cultural and commercial hub. Being the fourth most populated city in India, it has the population of 4.68 million. The history of Chennai dates back to the colonial times of British in 1644 with St George Fort. It became the major port for British in India and even today is second largest port in India. There are many BPOs situated here and it houses major IT companies too. Culture-wise, it is the most prominent place for Carnatic music and is famous for Bharat Natyam dance form. Tamil Film Industry is also situated in Chennai only.

There is a lot to see in Chennai for tourists. One can go to the Queensland amusement park or Crocodile Bank where lots of alligators and crocodiles can be seen. There are also other attractions like St George Fort, Government Museum, Marina Beach, Thousand Light Mosque and many temples, the most prominent being the Kapaleshwara Temple. There are many pubs, discotheques, bars and night clubs situated in the city that make night life of Chennai really prominent. Some good eating joints can be found here serving traditional couth Indian cuisine and cuisines from all over the world.

Many tours and travel operators are situated in Chennai. The city is well connected by road, railway and air. No matter from where you want to visit Chennai, you can always find a direct train or flight. Moreover, there are some very good luxury buses that connect the city from rest of the cities and towns of southern India and even Maharashtra and Goa. State run transport like TNSRTC also offers very good service in Chennai.

There is no dearth of good hotels and resorts in Chennai. There are all kinds of hotels to suit everyone’s requirement. While you can find five star hotels and resorts, there are also three star hotels and cheap hotels to fit in your pocket. Some prominent places to stay in Chennai include Park Hotel, Connemara Hotel, Green Park, Hyatt Regency, The Rain Tree, Residency Towers and Lemon Tree Hotel. There are less expensive hotels too in Chennai like Hotel Pushpak, Hotel Pandian, Hotel Crystal Regency, Radha Regent etc which offer very comfortable stay. If you want a budget hotel, you can find them in ample in Chennai too.